Are big Pharma companies deliberately playing down the solution to the dangers of statins?

A leading cardiologist in the US, Dr Dennis Goodman, is sensationally claiming that the big Pharma companies are not promoting the use of the vitamin K2 that could be used to prevent the side effects of most Statins.

Dr Goodman, who is Director of Integrative Medicine at New York University’sLangone Medical Centre, is backed up by other medical professionals who claim that because the new wonder vitamin, K2, cannot be patented, the Pharma companies are not interested in it.

Statins were hailed as the most significant treatment for Cardio Vascular Disease and have proved to be extremely effective in that role. The most popular, Lipitor, has been on the market for many years and is a huge earner for Warner – Lambert, now Pfizer. In fact, in 2003 Lipitor became the best-selling pharmaceutical drug in history.

Vitamin K2 is one of the best vitamins for heart health and is available in most Pharmacies under various names – VitaMK7 seems to be the most efficient, Solgar and Just Vitaminsare others. A study of 4,800 people in the Netherlands, known as the Rotterdam Study, by ProfessorJohanna M. Geleijnse showed that high levels of Vitamin K2 lowered the risk of coronary artery disease by as much as 57%. It also lowered calcium build up in the arteries by 52%.

Dr Goodman has authored the book, Vitamin K2: The Missing Nutrient for Heart and Bone Health. In it, he explains why Vitamin K2 is every bit as important as Vitamin D.“For 20 years I was putting stents in; running around day and night at the hospital. When I got called to the emergency room for someone having a heart attack, I was like a fireman putting out a fire in a house. Sometimes, you were very lucky and could save the house from burning down, and sometimes not. What I started to realize is that prevention is really the key for us to making the maximum impact. 80% of these chronic diseases including atherosclerosis, heart attacks and strokes, diabetes, and obesity are preventable”.

A recent study in the Expert Review of Clinical Pharmacology has highlighted that one of the problems with statins is that they inhibit vitamin K2. K2 is a nutrient that activates a protein called MGP, which helps prevent hardening of the arteries. Without K2, plaque levels in your body worsen, increasing the risk of atherosclerosis and heart failure.

An even bigger problem is the high risk of taking Calcium supplements without K2 which can cause calcium-related osteoporosis and atherosclerosis.Dr Kate Rheaume-Bleue, a Canadian expert in this field reported:

“While millions of people take calcium and Vitamin D supplements thinking they’re helping their bones, the truth is, without the addition of Vitamin K2, such a health regimen could prove dangerous. Without Vitamin K2, the body cannot direct calcium to the bones where it’s needed; instead, the calcium resides in soft tissue (like the arteries) , leading to a combination of osteoporosis and atherosclerosis, or the dreaded ‘calcium paradox’.”

Besides a Vitamin K2-poor diet, certain drugs may affect your Vitamin K2 status. Dr Goodman cites a recent article in the Journal of the American College of Cardiology,which suggests statin drugs may increase calcification in the arteries.“For me, that is so huge because if that’s true, everybody that is put on a statin, you want to make sure they’re also taking vitamin K2,”Dr Goodman says.

Additional Information:Heart Health
Vitamin K2 is one of the best vitamins for heart health. One study in particular – Johanna M. Geleijnse et al. “Dietary Intake of Menaquinone Is Associated with a Reduced Risk of Coronary Heart Disease: The Rotterdam Study.” J. Nutr. 2004 vol. 134 no. 11 3100-3105, – of 4,800 people showed that high levels of vitamin K2 lowered the risk of coronary artery disease by as much as 57%. It lowered calcium build up in the arteries by 52%. It also slashed the risk of death from any cause by 26%.
This study also found that populations that get more vitamin K2 in their diets reduce their risk of dying from cardiovascular disease by 50% over those who had lower amounts. In fact, it showed that for every daily increase of 10 mcg of K2, the risk of coronary heart disease decreases by 9%. Unfortunately, most people today are deficient in K2. Some estimates put the number as high as 98%.
Vitamin K2
A recent study, -” Statins stimulate atherosclerosis and heart failure: pharmacological mechanisms.” Expert Review of Clinical Pharmacology. 2015 Mar; 8(2): 189-99, has highlighted that one of the problems with statins is that they inhibit vitamin K2. K2 is a nutrient that activates a protein called MGP, which helps prevent hardening of the arteries. Without K2, plaque levels in your body worsen, increasing the risk of atherosclerosis and heart failure.

Statins May Increase Arterial Calcification by Depleting Vitamin K2

Besides a vitamin K2-poor diet, certain drugs may affect your vitamin K2 status. Dr Goodman cites a recent article in the Journal of the American College of Cardiology, which suggests statin drugs may increase calcification in the arteries. Interestingly enough, another recent study published in the Expert Review of Clinical Pharmacology shows that statins deplete vitamin K2.“For me, that is so huge because if that’s true, everybody that is put on a statin, you want to make sure they’re also taking vitamin K2,” Dr Goodman says.
This is an important observation, considering one in four adults in the US over the age of 40 is on a statin drug. Not only do all of these people need to take a ubiquinol or coenzyme Q10, which is also depleted by the drug, it’s quite likely they also need vitamin K2 to avoid cardiovascular harm.

Inflammation

Statins have been used extensively over the last decade and have shown to be pretty good at lowering cholesterol, but is cholesterol the real problem behind heart disease? High cholesterol is not the cause of heart disease. In fact, lowering your cholesterol levels with statins can actually increase your risk of heart disease. Two of the primary risk factors behind heart disease are inflammation and oxidation. Recent research on vitamin K2 shows that it can reduce inflammation by inhibiting pro-inflammatory markers produced by white blood cells – Maresz K Et al. New study shows evidence that MensaQ7 Positively Impacts Inflammation. 13th international Nutrition and Diagnostic Conference. INDC 2013. Maresz K et al. New study shows evidence that MensaQ7 Positively Impacts Inflammation. 13th international Nutrition and Diagnostic Conference. INDC 2013.

Bone Health
Vitamin K2 is the most biologically active form of vitamin K. It is also the most beneficial for bone health maximization. More than for any other condition, vitamin K supports recovery from osteoporosis. More than any other kind of vitamin K, the form of vitamin K2 known as MK-7 supports bone health. Scientists at the Research Centre for Genomic Medicine affiliated with Saitama Medical University in Saitama, Japan have found that this form of vitamin K2 activates a growth activation factor in the osteoblasts that build up bone.

Facts about Vitamin K2 (MK7)
There are three factors that can increase vitamin K2 insufficiency: poor nutrition and use of antibiotics that deteriorate gut flora; poor absorption of K2 from the gut due to aging or chronic gastrointestinal (GI) infections; and age-related compromised bioavailability of K2. If any of these factors correlate with one’s lifestyle, they should consider the possibility that they are vitamin K2 deficient. Vitamin K is an essential vitamin. It is one of the four fat-soluble vitamins, along with vitamin A,D and E. It was named vitamin K after the German word koagulation, because vitamin K’s role in blood coagulation was first discovered in Germany. Vitamin K can be found in dark green vegetables, matcha tea and natto (fermented soybeans). Vitamin K2 can also be found in animal products, since it is a result of bacterial fermentation. The Recommended Daily Intake (RDI) of vitamin K is sufficient to support healthy blood coagulation. Higher levels of vitamin K, however, provide benefits for cardiovascular and bone health. Unfortunately, it is difficult to obtain high levels of vitamin K from food alone so supplementation of vitamin K is a popular option. 200mcg of K2 is considered the optimum daily dosage.

Optimal levels of vitamin K are associated with improved bone circumference and diameter. Vitamin K can also protect cardiovascular health. It reduces the calcification and stiffening of arteries, which reduces the risk of cardiovascular-related mortality. Vitamin K may have a role to play in cancer therapy and anti-aging treatments. It may also help with regulating insulin sensitivity and reducing skin reddening, but more research is needed to determine if vitamin K has an active role to play in these areas. Vitamin K’s main mechanism is through the vitamin K cycle, which is a cyclical metabolic pathway that uses vitamin K to target specific proteins. When a protein expresses glutamate, it is targeted by vitamin K, which causes it to collect more calcium ions. Calcium ions are removed from the blood stream, which prevents build-up in the arteries.

Vitamin K is often supplemented alongside vitamin D, since vitamin D also supports bone health. In fact, taking both together will improve the effects of each, since they are known to work synergistically. Excessive vitamin D can lead to arterial calcification, but vitamin K reduces this build-up. Insufficient levels of K2 can lead to the decline in bone health status (potentially osteoporosis) and calcification of the cardiovascular arteries, making them stiff and inelastic – symptoms that are not immediately or obviously detectable.

Ingredients: Vitamin K2 (VitaMK7®) 200mcgMK7 Vitamin K2 is available throughout Ireland in Pharmacy’s and Health Stores.

Dr Goodman is also the chairman of the Department of Integrative Medicine at the New York University (NYU), and has authored the book, Vitamin K2: The Missing Nutrient for Heart and Bone Health. In it, he explains why vitamin K2 is every bit as important as vitamin D. “For 20 years I was putting stents in; running around day and night at the hospital. When I got called to the emergency room for someone having a heart attack, I was like a fireman putting out a fire in a house. Sometimes, you were very lucky and could save the house from burning down, and sometimes not. What I started to realize is that prevention is really the key for us to making the maximum impact. I’ve always been interested in the idea that everything we need to be healthy is provided by the Lord above –namely what’s out there for us to eat. 80 percent of these chronic diseases including atherosclerosis, heart attacks and strokes, diabetes, and obesity are preventable. So, I got into the whole idea of learning integrative medicine,” he says.http://jn.nutrition.org/content/134/11/3100.abstract

Johanna M. (Marianne) Geleijnse, PhD, completed her MSc degree in Epidemiology at the Netherlands Institute of Health Sciences, Rotterdam, in 1994. She then went on to earn her PhD from Erasmus University Medical School in Rotterdam in 1996, with a dissertation “Sodium, potassium and blood pressure: studies in the young and the old”. She is currently an Associate Professor of Epidemiology at the Division of Human Nutrition at Wageningen University. Her research focuses on the role of diet and lifestyle in the prevention of hypertension and cardiovascular diseases.
Terje Myrvold speaks about Pharmatech https://www.european-food.com/pharmatech-as/portrait/